Several years ago I sent a card to a woman who had lost her husband that year. I sent the card right before Christmas. It said that I was thinking about her during this difficult time of the first Christmas without her husband.
She told me that she really appreciated the card, and left it sitting out on her fireplace mantel for quite a while.
The anniversary date of the death of a loved one is another difficult time. Sometimes years later people will have a wave of sadness pass over them on that day, even if they don’t consciously remember it’s the anniversary of the death of their loved one.
One way to provide grief ministry is to send cards. We can send a card in the first weeks after a person dies, and that’s helpful and good, but the grief doesn’t end in a month. It’s important to remember people in the months and even years after their loved one dies.
When someone dies, send a card right then, and also send a card at Christmas, and a card at the anniversary of the person’s death. Setting it up ahead of time is an easy way to make sure you remember.
